Vitiligo is a common acquired skin disorder characterized by loss of pigmentation that results in hypomelanotic macules. Typically, the disease has an unpredictable course in which, due to unknown triggers, there is burst of activity with progress of the hypomelanotic lesions.1 Active state of vitiligo is defined as the extension of existing lesion and/or appearance of new lesion within the last year.2 Since reversal to original skin color is unusual, a rapid arrest of the spread of the lesion is the clinical goal in active vitiligo.1 In this scenario, tools that assess disease stability become important to determine the length of treatment. There is a need for development of a marker that monitors the disease prospectively, and sheds light
In 1665, a scientist named Marcello Malpighi came up with the idea that the skin coloring was mainly dteremined from the granules of the stratum mucosum, not by those of the stratum corneum of the dermis. In 1879, Moritz Kaposi was the first man to observe the lack in pigmentation in the rete pegs of vitiligo. Rete pegs are epithelial extensions that project into the connective tissue in the skin and the mucous membrane. About 4000 years of knowledge about vitiligo has been recorded and observed from the time man first noticed the white patches appearing on the skin until the melanocyte was determined as the actor for causing the depigmentation in the skin.
Acral Lentiginous Melanoma or ALM is a rare subtype of melanoma that occurs more often in people of color. It accounts for 2 to 3 percent of the all of the world’s cases of melanoma (Bradford). Dr. R. J. Reed in 1976 was the first to describe it as the appearance of dark lesions on the hands and feet. Radial or lentiginous was the main phase of its growth that lasts several years then it changes into a vertical or dermal invasive stage (Bradford). Several universities have released results on tests on ALM but since it is rare it was difficult for the research groups to get solid information because of small sample sizes. Nonetheless, studies by scientists such as Dr. R. J. Reed we able to determine that the survival rate for three years with the melanoma was on average at 11% (Bradford).
Skin (history of skin disease, pigment or color change, change in mole, excessive dryness or moisture, pruritus, excessive bruising, rash
LENTIGO: this is a small pigmented flat or slightly elevated macule on the skin, it has a clearly defined edge unlike the regular freckles, here melanocytes appear to replace keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. Though they may be symptoms of a genetic disorder, they are more commonly known to be extravenous spots. The pigments may vary from brown to black. It affects both male and females. Lentigos are classified into many types according to their, appearance, color, cause and association with certain diseases. These types include ;
Acne is everyone’s worst nightmare, and fortunately enough medical estheticians are trained to treat it. They also treat rosacea, psoriasis vulgaris, and even vitiligo. Rosacea is a disorder where the skin has an excess of redness and can be treated with laser treatments or surgery although it will not be fully cured. Psoriasis vulgaris is a disorder where itchy and irritated skin abrasions become present on the skin. Psoriasis vulgaris can be treated with long term treatments along with the change of the client’s diet. Vitiligo is a disorder where the skin loses color in patches. The appearance of the spots are random and can cause people to feel self conscious (Christine
Those who have light skin, hair, and/or eye colors are at an increased risk for developing melanoma over their opposite counterparts. Risks escalate for those who are sensitive to the sun and develop sunburn easily, have a history of intense sunburns, or never tan. A family history of melanoma is another risk factor associated with developing the disease. Persons with a personal history of melanoma are at a greater risk of recurrence. Significant numbers of freckling and moles in an individual is an additional risk factor in developing melanoma. Controllable risk factors include the use of ultraviolet radiation tanning beds, and the time one spends in the sun under natural ultraviolet radiation (Calianno, 2011). Sunburns in later life and cumulative lifetime exposure to ultraviolet radiation are important factors in the development of melanoma, but blistering sunburns in early childhood markedly increase a person’s risk
In the present study, the epidermal and dermal H-score of LXR-α and its epidermal nucleocytoplasmic expression in lesional skin were higher than in non lesional skin which was higher than in control skin. This goes with Kumar et al. (2010) demonstrated the expression of LXR-α was significantly higher in perilesional skin as compared to the normal skin of vitiligo patients [10].While the cytoplasmic expression of LXR-α was higher in the control skin in comparison with lesional and non lesional skin. This can be explained by the suggestion of Hu et al. who supposed that the cytoplasmic fraction of LXRα is in inactive form [19].
Melanoma has become increasingly invasive where it has increased at an “average of 4.6% annually from 1975 to 1985 and 2.7% annually from 1986 to 2007.” (Rigel, Russak, & Friedman, 2010) While it might appear that the increase has diminished over time from 1975 to 2007, the percentage of individuals getting the skin cancer is still continually increasing. With the increase in individuals, it is expected that about one of fifty individuals are likely to develop an invasive form of melanoma that results in the expected deaths caused by melanoma to be approximately 8700. (Rigel et al., 2010) The concern to minimize the increasing number of cases lead to diagnosis of melanoma in its early stages, either done through licensed dermatologists or through myriad of computer techniques. Thus, Dermatologists and laymen have utilized the ABCDE method to detect early symptoms of melanoma in order to prevent onset symptoms. The ABCDE method utilized by professionals stands for Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Color variegation, Diameter < 6mm, and Evolving. (Rigel et al., 2010) The ABCDE method is applied to lesions and moles of individuals that appear melanomic: asymmetry is the lack of symmetry of the lesion; border irregularity is the indication that the melanomic lesion is ragged, notched, or blurred; color variegation is the abnormality in the color of the lesion; Diameter < 6mm indicates that the lesion is smaller than 6 mm; evolving that indicates the change in the lesion over time. In most cases, each factor of the ABCDE method is observed in combinations such as ABC or A and C rather than the observation of an individual feature itself. Conclusively, the ABCDE is a relatively simplistic method reliant on sight that is utilized by the general public and medical professionals to recognize and analyze suspicious moles or
Playing around freely and making new friends wasn’t too easy for Michaela, as she was one of the only few people who had Vitiligo, a rare skin condition. Michaela was often prejudged by negative people who would tell her to quit because of the way she looks. The words coming out of people’s mouth meant great value to Michaela. Some even told her that she wouldn’t be able to continue dancing and succeed when she is older. “Once, someone in the ballet world, a man whose opinion meant a lot to me, said to my mother, we don’t like to waste a lot of time, money, and effort on the black girls. When they reach puberty, they develop big thighs and behinds and can’t dance ballet anymore,” Michaela remembered while watching a performance, (DePrince pg.124).
vitiligo can affect at any age (Dash et al., 2015). The disease equally affects dults and children of both sexes; however, vitiligo is commonly reported during stages of active development. About 50% of patients present before the age of 20 and nearly 70-80% present before age of 30. Although no age is immune to vitiligo, the disease is very rarely observed at birth (Reddy,
Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with darker skin.
Dermoscopy is an extensively used non-invasive in-vivo approach for skin examination that improves diagnostic efficiency of the unaided eye for pigmented and non-pigmented skin lesions1. It grants the dermatologist a hand held, non-time consuming technique to look not only onto the but also into the superficial skin layers of skin, and thus facilitates visualization of subsurface skin structures located within the epidermis, dermoepidermal junction, and papillary dermis, allowing in a more detailed inspection of pigmented and non-pigmented skin lesions2. Dermoscopy is well recognized as being more accurate in the diagnosis of melanomas and other pigmented lesions and identify lesions that have a high likelihood of being malignant and to assist in differentiating them from benign lesions clinically mimicking these cancers3. Dermoscopy are easy-to-use devices,
Human pigmentation is influenced by hemoglobins within blood vessels in the skin, carotene and melanins. Melanin, the basis of pigmentation, can be found in the forms of eumelanin and phaeomelanin. Eumelanin is the brown-black pigment located in the skin, hair, and eyes. Phaeomelanin is a yellow to reddish-brown pigment found in small quantities within the skin, eyes, and red hair. Because of these two pigments, to a greater or lesser degree, we have the variation
The day was November 14th, 2005. Being the curious and (very) nerdy child that I was, spending my sixth birthday in the doctor’s office wasn’t the worst thing ever. And so, a scrawny Indian boy sat in the office of a well-respected dermatologist, next to a caring mother who had wrestled through the day with her limited knowledge of English. Little did I know that this glorious sixth birthday was the day that would shape the rest of my life; this was the day that I was diagnosed with non-segmental vitiligo.
Generally this means a pleasing appearance is not a guide to character. In this case, we